Envelope-closing machine



Jan. 4 1927. f 1,613,243

R. Mol-1N ENVELOPE CLOSING MACHINE Filed March 5, 1926 /fv vena/.-

Patented Jan. 4, 1927.

til-Nitti STAT RUDOLF Moi-IN, ,or sULGnN, swrrznntnim, assienon To WILLYMLLER, or Titan GANTON ST. GALLEN, SWITZERLAND.

ENVELGPE-CLOSNG MACHINE.

Application filed March 3, 1926, Serial No.

This invention relates to a machine tor inoistening the sealing flaps otenvelopesand sticking them to the bodies ot the envelopes, and theinvention consists in the provision ot a box having an opened sidethrough which a moistening pad is rocked tor application to a sealingflap projecting downwards :troni an envelope placed on the top oit thebox, a pair ot press rollers being arranged so as to receive themoistened envelope as the latter is ted 'forward by a teeding device,the latter as well as the moistening pad and the rollers being operatedby means ot a shaft and a crank handle.

Fig. l ot the accompanying drawings represents a front view oi' themachine,

Fig. 2, a plan view, and

Fig. 3, an end view ot' the same.

A box 2 has a bottom to which it is connected by angle irons 8. The rearside ot' the box is open so that a moistening pad 4() can be applied,trom inside the box, to an upright plate 48 arranged at the open side ofthe box and spaced trom the latter. The upper edge ot the -plate 48 isbent over at right ang es and held in alignment with the top plate 4 ot'the box. The moistening pad 40 consists oit an asbestos strip which isclamped between metal strips 38 and 39 and l bent together with thelatter so as to torni two limbs which coincide with the gummed edge otthe sealing flap ot an envelope to be closed. The pad is connected by anarm 3." to a rock shatt 26 which is held in brackets 27 and 28 on thebox. There is a tray 41 in the box into which the pad dips tor thereception ot moistening liquid after each application to the plate 48.For rocking the shaft 26 and the pad, a lever 32 is pivoted at 36 to theright end wall ot the box 2 and connected by a link El to an arm 30secured tothe rock shaft. The operating shaft 9 ot the machine isrotated by means ot a crank handle 34 and carries a cani l() whichoperates the lever 32 by engagement with an :mth friction roller 35 heldin a tork 33 on the lever. A spring 29 on the shaft tends to apply thepad to the plate 48 and holds the roller 35 against the cam.

A pair ot press rollers 42 and 43 are mounted in brackets 44 at the openside oit the box. rlhe lower roller 43 is larger than the upper one andhas its top surface about on a level with the top plate 4. The upperroller 42 is guided in the upper, forked ends 92,081, and in SwitzerlandJuly 22, 1953-5.

ot the bracket 44 and is lheld again-st the roller 43 by ysprings 45. Apair ot inter-V meshing bevel gears 4G one ot `vhich `is mounted on theshaft ot the roller 43 and the other on the end ot the operating shaft9, transmits motion from the latter to the press rollers.

A feeding device is provided in the torni of two lever arms 2O which arecarried by a rock shaft 2l inside the box and which are brought upthrough elongated slots 18 and 19 in the top wall 4 or" the box. rEheshat't 26 is held in bearings 22 and 23, and one end projects to theright end wall ot the box where it is fitted with a collar 24 carrying aradial arm 25. A spring 49 tends to turn the shaft 21 and holds the arm25 against a cam 11 mounted on the operating shaft 9. A crest on the cam11, acting on the arm 25, moves the arm 2O towards the press rollers.The envelopes are placed on the top plate the opened sealing V[lap beinginserted through the slit 47 termed between the plate 48 and the edge ofthe plate 4, whereupon the operating shaft is turned by means ot ahandle 34. This causes the moistening pad to be raised from the tray 4land to be applied to the sealing flap against the plate 4S so as tomoisten the gummed edge ot the same. As the pad recedes, the arms 20 aremoved forward so as to push the moistened envelope in between the pressrollers 42 and 43, the sealing flap, which is closed as it passes overthe edge ot the plate 48, being stuck to the body ot the envelope as thelatter passes between the rollers.

The top plate 4 has at one end an extension 8 which covers the operatingshaft and which is curved concentrically with the latter. An envelopeguide 16 is arranged across the top plate. This guide is adjustable andis secured to the plate by screws 17 which are guided in slots 14 and l5in the plate. Another extension 5, on which the envelopes may bestacked, is hinged to the opposite end ot the plate 4 so that it can betolded against the end wall ot the box. Foldable brackets 7 support theextension 5 in a horizontal position tor use.

A counter i3 which records the operations, is visible in a slot in theplate extension 8, as shown in Fig. 2. This counter is operated by thesha'fit 9 through the medium ot a gearing 12.

I claim:

l im

l. A letter closing machine Comprising a box having an open side, arockshaft held by said box at the open side thereof, a moisten ing padconnected to said shaft so that it can be applied from the inside of thebox to the sealing flap of an envelope placed on the top of the boX withsaid flap extended downwards at the open side of the box, a pair ofpress rollers arranged at the open side of the box, means for feedingthe moistened envelope along the top of the box to the press rollers, anoperating shaft, and means for transmitting motion from said operatingshaft to the rock shaft, to the press rollers and to the feeding means.

2. In a machine as claimed in claim l, feeding means comprising a pairof lever arms projecting through slots in the top of the box, and a rockshaft for operating said arms.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 in which the press rollers are ofdifferent size, the upper roller beingl the smaller, and means forholding the upper roller resiliently against the lower one.

RUDOLF MOHN.

